Will I Have Hazy Vision After Lasik?

Hazy vision is not normal after LASIK and should be reported to your operating surgeon.  Patients' vision is usually quite clear following vision correction with LASIK.

Hazy vision is not typical by the day after LASIK unless you have significant dryness of your eyes.  I suggest the frequent use of artificial tears and then ask your surgeon of the cause.  You may need an enhancement or have wrinkles in your flap.

with CustomVue wavefront technology, i am now making more than 50% of my patients see BETTER than they did with contacts or glasses

so your vision has the chance of being sharper than contacts or glasses, as the laser is 25x more accurate than glasses or contacts

i have more people now see better than 20/20 after i switched from LASIK to LASEK, as there is no flap to induce aberrations that are not fixed by the laser. i have a longer discussion about this in another RealSelf posting, or on my website, if anyone is interested in why this is

You will certainly have some blurring of the vision the day that the procedure is performed and you may have some hazy vision especially at night for a few days to weeks especially at night. Typically the vision clears rapidly with LASIK, but the ultimate visual quality will not be known for up to 3 months when the healing is complete. It is rare for patients to complain of hazy vision and most patients report a quality of vision comparable to that of contact lenses. If you have heard of complaints of hazy vision it may be in someone who had some difficulties in their recovery process or who had PRK with some haze developing in the cornea. This is different from halos which are rings around lights at night which can occur after LASIK but again tends to get better over time, and is much less likely with the newer laser treatements available today.

Your vision will be slightly foggy for the remainder of the day after you have LASIK surgery. By the time you wake up the next morning, you should notice considerably better vision, usually in the range of 20/20. It is not uncommon for your night vision to be reduced for several nights before improving after LASIK surgery.

I tell all of my patients that upon sitting up from their LASIK procedure, their vision will be approximately 70-80% better right away, but smoky(hazy) for about 3-4 hours. This is caused by some swelling in the surface of the cornea that is seen in all patients. I compare this to a window that has become fogged by moisture. The "fog" clears through the first day and is 90-95% cleared by the first morning after the procedure. It continues to clear across the first week.